Case Study

Visit Milwaukee x LeRoy Butler AI Experience

Objective

Visit Milwaukee set out to redefine how visitors explore and experience the city by introducing an innovative, AI-powered Augmented Reality (AR) assistant—brought to life through the charismatic persona of local legend Leroy Butler. The goal was to offer tourists a fun, engaging, and instantly accessible guide who could answer real-time questions about hotels, dining spots, upcoming events, hidden gems, and much more—all through an immersive, conversational WebAR interface.

Solution

To bring this vision to life, Visit Milwaukee partnered with August Allen AR to develop a cutting-edge WebAR experience featuring a lifelike 3D avatar of LeRoy Butler, powered by conversational AI. Users simply point their phone at a poster, kiosk, or QR code around the city—and poof!—LeRoy appears in AR, ready to chat. The experience blends Milwaukee’s vibrant spirit with smart technology, allowing visitors to ask natural-language questions and receive personalized, location-aware recommendations—as if they had a local friend guiding them through town.

Results

Since its launch, the LeRoy Butler AR Assistant has become a beloved ambassador for Milwaukee tourism. With over 5,000 interactions in the first three months, users have praised the experience for its charm, usefulness, and seamless technology. Hotels reported higher guest satisfaction, restaurants and events saw increased foot traffic from AR-driven recommendations.
 
The project didn’t just enhance the visitor experience—it positioned Milwaukee as a showcase city for AI + AR tourism innovation.
Scan a QR code. Say hi to LeRoy. Let Milwaukee surprise you.

Check it out!